Chapter 65
Lin Xing got out of bed, opened the window and suddenly found that there was a small garden behind the post station. What surprised her even more was that a woman was standing in it.
The woman had her back to her, so Lin Xing couldn't see her face clearly. She seemed to have heard the sound of the window opening, so she turned around and looked in Lin Xing's direction.
In the moonlight, Lin Xing could see that she was Wen Nuan, but there was no pipa in her hand, she was just standing there alone. The two looked at each other for a long time. After Lin Xing came to her senses, she ran downstairs and came to Wen Nuan before she left.
Lin Xing took the initiative to ask: "Why is Miss Wen here alone?"
"I couldn't sleep. Why did Miss Yu get up?"
"I have some questions that I haven't figured out yet, and I can't sleep because I toss and turn. Since I happened to meet Miss Wen, I would like to ask you to help me solve my doubts. What do you think?"
Wen Nuan's expression was filled with doubt and a hint of caution, but his tone did not change. "It is my honor to help the girl, and I naturally cannot refuse."
Lin Xing stared into her eyes and said word by word: "I just saw Xiaoxiao and Miss Wen, and found that she doesn't look like you. Could it be that Xiaoxiao looks more like his father?"
The warm pupils dilated, and he pursed his lips and said, "Yes, this is not unusual, right?"
"It's not surprising." Lin Xing nodded in agreement, but then changed the subject, "But I always feel that Xiaoxiao looks familiar. May I ask her father..."
Lin Xing also felt that her question was too presumptuous and was too embarrassed to finish the sentence.
"Dead." Wen Nuan did not collapse as Lin Xing imagined. Instead, she was extremely calm and was just stating a fact that had nothing to do with her.
Lin Xing lowered her head and said in a muffled voice: "…My condolences."
"Miss Yu, there's no need to be like this. This matter has long passed. Now I can talk about it calmly and I don't care about it anymore."
"I wonder who her father is? When did he die? Where is he buried? Maybe I really knew him, and I can go visit him then."
"...He passed away not long after I gave birth to Xiaoxiao." She just said this warmly and stopped. Lin Xing smiled and waited for her follow-up, but there was no movement.
Wen Nuan lowered her head and pinched the corner of her clothes with both hands, just like Xiao Xiao just now. Lin Xing looked at her carefully and said after a moment: "It seems that it is not convenient to tell you, but I have a story here, and I want Miss Wen to hear it."
"I have a friend who grew up with me, but she moved to the capital with her family when she was thirteen. After that, we only communicated through letters and never met again."
"When everything was back on track, she disappeared. All the letters I sent fell into the sea and I never heard from her again. But I didn't believe it and kept writing to her. Finally, one day she wrote back."
The performer without an audience had no desire to continue, so Lin Xing paused deliberately, "Miss Wen, do you know what she wrote in the letter?"
Wen Nuan shook her head in confusion, "I don't know."
It’s right that you don’t know. Lin Xing continued, “She said in the letter that her parents sold her to a brothel. By chance, she met an important person, who redeemed her and brought her back home. That’s why she had the opportunity to write back to me.”
While saying this, Lin Xing stared at Wen Nuan without missing a beat. Seeing her expression, she raised her lips with satisfaction. "From that day on, she often wrote to me to tell me about her experiences in your house. I could tell from her writing that she had fallen in love with me. She didn't say it directly, so I just pretended I didn't know. She disappeared for a while, and when I wrote to her, she was already pregnant."
"She told me that this was a gift from God and a favor from fate, and that she would take good care of her child. Miss Wen, do you think this is a good thing?"
Wen Nuan gritted her teeth and said, "This is not a good thing. She is obviously a fool."
"Miss Wen thinks the same as I do. It's not easy for women to survive in this world. If they are not careful, they will be doomed. She has clearly taken the wrong path. But seeing her immersed in the happiness she has created, I can't speak directly. I can only express my thoughts in a subtle way."
"It was no use. She disappeared. This time I heard nothing from her. By the time I heard from her again, her body had already rotted."
“…”
“…”
"Miss Wen, how about this story?"
"You... guessed everything?"
Lin Xing nodded, and Wen Nuan showed a relieved expression, "How did Miss Yu guess it?"
"Miss Wen has an extraordinary temperament. Even though she is wearing a coarse linen dress, it is still difficult to hide her elegance. Moreover, you have thick calluses on your fingers. Although you have been at the post station for eight years, there are some places that can only be left by playing the pipa and guzheng for many years."
"And Xiaoxiao looks very familiar to me. She looks like a big shot I've met." Lin Xing blinked and moved closer to her. "Has anyone told Miss Wen that you subconsciously pose like a prostitute when you stand?"
Wen Nuan blushed and stammered, "Thank you Miss Yu for reminding me."
"You're welcome, so could you please tell me Xiaoxiao's true life story?"
"Just as Miss Yu guessed, Xiaoxiao's mother and I grew up in a brothel. After that, it was a clichéd story of a hero saving a beautiful woman. She and I were taken back to a big shot's mansion to be dancers. Not long after, she became pregnant with Xiaoxiao, but the man was afraid that this would tarnish his reputation, so he secretly poisoned her."
"That person gave her a slow-acting poison. When she was about to give birth, she had a hemorrhage. She desperately gave birth to Xiaoxiao and gave her to me, asking me to escape with Xiaoxiao. That's what happened next."
"That…"
Wen Nuan seemed to know what Lin Xing was going to ask, and said first: "I can't tell you the identity of that person."
"I understand. We just met by chance. It's normal for us to have some concerns." Lin Xing touched herself all over and finally found the hairband she used to tie her hair during the day. She closed her eyes and made up her mind secretly. She put the hairband in Wen Nuan's hands and said, "If you need help in the future, take the hairband and find me at Yu Mansion in Beijing."
Wen Nuan quickly declined and tried to return the hairband to Lin Xing, "This is not in accordance with etiquette. Is the girl from the Yu Mansion? But doesn't General Yu have only one son?"
"Miss Wen, have you forgotten that we are his distant relatives?" Lin Xing held her hand. "If you feel it is inappropriate, just give me the hairpin that Xiaoxiao wore today."
"But it's just an old thing, how can it compare to this promise?"
"Why not? That hairpin is really unique. I can't forget it after just a quick glance. I hope you can help me."
Lin Xing's sincere expression made Wen Nuan unable to refuse, so she had to agree to it.
Then Lin Xing yawned, and Wen Nuan seemed to realize something, and said embarrassedly: "I have kept you for too long, young lady, go back and have a rest. I will personally deliver the hairpin to you tomorrow."
The two said goodbye, and the garden under the moonlight returned to peace again, with only the chrysanthemums swaying in the breeze.
This time, as soon as Lin Xing lay down on the bed, she felt sleepy. She actually heard the sound of the pipa again, but she no longer had the strength to get up. Her last thought before falling asleep was, could it be that Wen Nuan also knew ventriloquism?
This was of course impossible. Lin Xing knew nothing about music, so she couldn't tell that the tune was disorganized. How could someone who used to make a living from this be out of tune?
It was a dreamless night. When Lin Xing opened her eyes, the sky was just getting light. She got up and went downstairs. Yu Hang and Shen Ling were already sitting at the table. Others were also busy. Everything was fine. However,
"Chen Ling, you didn't sleep well last night? Why do you have such dark circles under your eyes?"
Shen Ling blinked wildly at Lin Xing, motioning her to sit next to him. After Lin Xing sat down, she leaned over and whispered, "Did you hear the sound of the pipa last night?"
Lin Xing slapped her head and said, "I really heard it."
"We have just asked the shopkeeper, but he didn't know anything about it and just said it was just our hallucinations."
Yu Hang: "Not only him, everyone else in the station said so."
Lin Xing waved her hand indifferently, "I thought it was some big deal, maybe I really heard it wrong."
Shen Ling: "Didn't you hear it too?"
"I was hallucinating, too."
Facing Lin Xing's expression, Shen Ling was speechless for a moment, and finally uttered, "Okay!"
"Three distinguished guests, please enjoy your meal." The shopkeeper noticed that everyone had arrived and immediately served the food.
"Thank you, boss." After saying that, Lin Xing took the lead in picking up the chopsticks, and Shen Ling and Yu Hang stopped sitting there.
The three of them finished eating quickly and put down their chopsticks. Shen Ling was unwilling to give up and asked, "Are you leaving like this?"
Lin Xing: "What else?"
"That pipa sound...?"
"Don't take it too seriously. Maybe it's just a little sleeping service provided by the post station."
"Who would fall asleep listening to the devil's music?"
"Devil's voice?"
Shen Ling was surprised and asked, "You didn't notice that the sound of the pipa was chaotic?"
Lin Xing's mouth twitched, "I don't understand music, how can I tell?"
"It's not important. The key is who played it?"
Lin Xing turned her head and looked to the side. "Perhaps you have seen the person playing the pipa?"
Shen Ling and Yu Hang looked over and saw Xiaoxiao quietly playing with the ball. But Lin Xing didn't give them more time to react, and stood up, "Let's go, it's time to leave."
Yu Hang: "Now that everything is packed, let's go."
Just as they were about to walk out of the door, someone stopped them, "Miss Yu."
Wen Nuan was holding a box, looking at Lin Xing eagerly. She took the box and said, "Thank you, Miss Wen."
Wen Nuan shook her head, pursed her lips to form a smile, and said, "Have a nice trip, everyone."
After leaving the post station, Shen Ling couldn't resist his curiosity and asked, "What is this?"
Lin Xing opened the lid so that the two could see what was inside the box, and Shen Ling chuckled.
Yu Hang: "Are you happy?"
Shen Ling laughed twice, "I'm happy for Shopkeeper Lin."
Now not only Yu Hang, but even Lin Xing didn't know what he was talking about, and asked in confusion: "What does this mean?"
"It is often said that there are four great joys in life: rain after a long drought, meeting an old friend in a foreign land, having a wedding night together, and passing the imperial examination. You have achieved three of them at once. How can I not be happy for you?"
"My requirements are not high, as long as I don't encounter the four major tragedies in life."
"The Four Tragedies?"
Lin Xing couldn't help but curl up her lips. "I met my ex-boyfriend as the attending doctor, my ex-boyfriend as the examiner, my ex-boyfriend as the chef, and my ex-boyfriend as the host at the funeral."
After saying these words, Lin Xing couldn't control her laughter. Yu Hang was stunned for a second before laughing out loud. Only Shen Ling was at a loss.
"Whose words are these?"
"This great man's surname is Lu, his given name is Ziqiao, and his courtesy name is Xiaobu. You may not know him well."
Chen Ling smiled awkwardly and said, "I have indeed never heard of it, but what is the ex…boyfriend?"
"My ex-boyfriend is nothing."
Shen Ling seemed to understand, but Yu Hang couldn't bear to watch it anymore, so he pulled someone onto the carriage to interrupt the farce.
Lin Xing looked at the white plum hairpin in her hand and confirmed again that it was the same one Xunhuan wore on her head at that time.
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